Editing Trick-taking game (section)

==Basic structure==
Certain actions in trick-taking games with three or more players always proceed in the same direction. In games originating in North and West Europe, including England, Russia, and the United States and Canada, the rotation is typically clockwise, i.e., play proceeds to the left. In South and East Europe, South America, and Asia it is typically anticlockwise, so that play proceeds to the right. When games move from one region to another, they tend to initially preserve their original sense of rotation. A region with a dominant sense of rotation may adapt a migrated game to its own sensibilities.<!--This should be enough. It's easy to guess the rotation in former colonies from this.--> For two-player games the order of play is moot.

In each ''hand'' or ''deal,'' one player is the ''[[Dealer (card player)|dealer]].'' This function moves from deal to deal in the normal direction of play. The dealer usually [[Shuffling|shuffles]] the deck (some games use "soft shuffling," where the dealer does not explicitly shuffle the deck), and after giving the player one seat from the dealer opposite the normal direction of play an opportunity to [[Cut (cards)|cut]], hands out the same prescribed number of cards to each player, usually in an order following the normal direction of play. 

Most games deal cards one at a time in rotation. A few games require dealing multiple cards at one time in a ''packet.'' The cards apportioned to each player are collectively known as that player's ''hand'' and are only known to the player. Some games involve a set of cards that are not dealt to a player's hand. These cards form the ''stock.'' (see below) It is generally good manners to leave one's cards on the table until the deal is complete.

The player sitting one seat after the declarer (one with the highest bid and not the dealer) in normal rotation is known as the ''[[eldest hand]],'' also called the ''forehand'' in [[Skat (card game)|Skat]] and other games of German origin. The eldest hand ''leads'' to the first ''trick,'' i.e. places the first card of the trick face up in the middle of all players. The other players each follow with a single card, in the direction of play. When every player has played a card to the trick, the trick is evaluated to determine the winner, who takes the cards, places them face down on a pile, and leads to the next trick. The winner or taker of a trick is usually the player who played the highest-value card of the suit that was led, unless the game uses one or more ''[[Trump (card games)|trump]]'' cards (see below).

The player who leads to a trick is usually allowed to play an arbitrary card from their hand. Some games have restrictions on the first card played in the hand, or may disallow leading a card of a particular [[suit (cards)|suit]] until that suit has been played "off-suit" in a prior trick, called "breaking" the suit, usually seen in cases of a trump or penalty suit. Other games have special restrictions on the card that must be led to the first trick. Usually this is a specific card, e.g., 2{{Clubs}}. The holder of that card is the eldest hand instead of the person one seat after the dealer.

In many games, the following players must ''[[#Follow suit|follow suit]]'' if they can, i.e., they must play a card of the same suit if possible. A player who cannot follow suit may ''slough'' a card, i.e., play a card of a different suit. A trick is won by the player who has played the highest-ranked card of the ''suit led,'' i.e., of the suit of the first card in the trick, unless the game uses a [[#Trumps|trump suit]].

It can be an advantage to lead to a trick, because the player who leads controls the suit that is led and which others must follow. The leading player playing a suit of which he has many, decreases the chance that anyone else would be able to follow suit. Playing a suit of which he has few, allows him to rid his hand of that suit, known as ''[[Void (cards)|voiding]]'' the suit, freeing him from the restriction to follow suit when that suit is led by another player. 

On the other hand, it can be advantageous to be the final player who plays to the trick, because at that point one has full information about the other cards played to the trick. The last player to a trick can play a card just slightly higher or lower than the current winning card, guaranteeing they will win or lose it by the minimum amount necessary, saving more valuable high or low value cards for situations where they must guarantee that a card played early to a trick will win or lose.

When all cards have been played, the number or contents of the tricks won by each player is tallied and used to update the score. Scoring based on the play of tricks varies widely between games. In most games either the number of tricks a player or partnership has won (''plain-trick'' games), or the value of certain cards that the player has won by taking tricks (''point-trick'' games) is important.